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By Mrs. Canavan of Brockton, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2056) of Christine E. Canavan and others relative to needlestick injury prevention in public health facilities. Public Health. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
David Paul Linsky
Kay Khan
Pamela P. Resor
Bruce E. Tarr
Barbara A. L'Italien
Patricia D. Jehlen
Cory Atkins
William Smitty Pignatelli
Denise Provost
Elizabeth A. Malia
Jennifer M. Callahan
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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An Act relative to needlestick injury prevention in public health facilities and settings. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 53C the following section:
SECTION 53D: All state, county and municipal public health facilities, including but not limited to the department of mental retardation, mental health and public health shall ensure the provision of services to individuals through the use of hollow-bore needle devices or other technology which minimize the risk of injury to health care workers from hypodermic syringes or needles.
Accordingly, the Department of Public Health shall promulgate rules and regulations by November 1, 2008 requiring the use, at all state, county and municipal public health facilities, including but not limited to the departments of mental retardation, mental health and public health, of only such devices which minimize the risk of injury to health care workers from needlesticks and sharps, so-called.
Such rules and regulations promulgated by the department shall include the following requirements:
(1) Written exposure control plans shall be developed by each public health facility that include an effective procedure for identifying and selecting existing sharps prevention technology, so-called, of the types specified by the department.
(2) Sharps injury prevention technology shall be included as engineering and work practice controls, except in cases where the employer or other appropriate party can demonstrate circumstances in which the technology does not promote employee or patient safety or interferes with a medical procedure. Those circumstances shall be specified by the employer and shall include, but not be limited to, circumstances where the technology is medically contraindicated or not more effective than alternative measures used by the employer to prevent exposure incidents. In all cases the department shall make the final determination as to whether an employer or other appropriate party has demonstrated in a satisfactory manner circumstances which warrant an exemption from the inclusion of sharps injury prevention technology.
(3) Information concerning exposure incidents shall be recorded in a sharps injury log to be kept within the facility and reported annually to the department, including but not limited to, the type and brand of device involved in the incident. Such logs shall be used as the basis for continuing quality improvement in reducing sharps injuries through the provision of education and the procurement of improved products. Such logs shall be kept confidential and shall be used only for the intended purposes of this section.
(4) Written exposure control plans shall be updated when necessary to reflect progress in sharps prevention technology as determined by the department.
The department shall compile and maintain a list of needleless systems, needles, and sharps, so-called, with engineered injury protections. Said list shall be available to assist employers in complying with rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with this act.